Just Like Another Stranger
by ohkgrey
Summary: When Bella and Edward meet there is an instant connection. But for some reason Edward seems to be waring with himself. He changes everything Bella never knew she wanted. AH/OOC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Things I own would include, a very old copy of Wuthering Heights, a mildly old Epiphone guitar and a very new pair of moccasins. **

**Things I don't own would include, Twilight by the lovely SM, Ignorance by the rock awesome Paramore and anything else you may recognize.**

**Things that own me would include Robert Pattinson and apparently also faux-hawkward. Swoon.**

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Prologue

The moment I stepped outside of my house I internally sighed and wished for the rain to be here instead of the snow. Wrapping my old jacket tighter around myself I made a dash for my truck. Sitting in the cabin, waiting for the heat to start working, I reached for the hair that no longer rested on my shoulder. Sighing dejectedly I reasoned with myself that it was worth it, my hair looked nice short. Right? Shaking my head of silly errant thoughts, I reversed my truck out of my dirt driveway and headed south.

I parked my truck in the lot behind my favorite little sushi joint in the down town area of Forks, Washington. I loved this area; it had an old-time feel to it. There were always white twinkle lights in the trees that ran down both sides of the narrow streets.

Passing the Starbucks on the corner of the street, I noticed a large group of people gathered inside the store. Not caring enough to stop and see what all the commotion was about I kept walking until I saw the welcoming 'open' sign lit up on the front window of my sushi place. I smiled.

I was about to step through the doorway when someone called my name. A chill ran throughout my entire body. I let go of the door and slowly turned toward the voice…

_Well shit._

"Bella! God, it _is_ you! I can't believe it!!!"

I was frozen in place, taken aback by the tall, solid form that was quickly approaching me. He jogged out of the Starbucks and stopped a foot in front of me.

His hair was cropped short on the sides and his orange-brown curls were haphazardly formed into a messy faux-hawk on the top of his head. There was just a hint of stubble on his face. He was wearing a black shirt with a deep v-neck that showed the dip between his pecs. I followed the line of his broad shoulders to his forearms where I stared at the veins disappearing into his sleeves, which were pushed up passed his elbows. The black shirt made his light skin look paler than I had ever seen. He had on a pair of black jeans that were cut close to his legs and then bunched together at his ankles where they met with his worn-in black chucks.

His lips slowly pulled around his teeth to form into a large smile, while his jade-green eyes scanned from my jean-clad legs up, until he met my eyes.

_God he's beautiful._

"Edward." I breathed. Though my face did not show any sign of happiness, his smile did not falter.

"I can't believe I ran into you here!!" Edward said as he moved to embrace me in a hug. He wrapped his left arm around my waist and his other came to bring my face to his chest, it was hard. He smelled like coffee and maybe a little bit of sunshine. I patted him back with one hand, my other hanging at my side.

"Look at your hair! You chopped it all off!!" He grimaced as he pushed my bangs aside and ran his fingers through my hair. "Did you dye parts of it black? It makes your brown look lighter. That's cool I guess." Apparently Edward didn't enjoy my new haircut.

"Edward, I live in Forks. It's not that surprising that you would run into me here." I said ignoring his comments about my hair and talking a step away from him.

It was then that about seven people exited the Starbucks, laughing. One man with a British accent called out to Edward. Suddenly, I understood what the crowd was inside of Starbucks.

While still keeping eye contact with me, Edward, called out, "Peter!! Come here. Meet Bella."

The group walked up behind Edward and then flanked his sides. As if to show I was alone. I quickly scanned the group around him, they all looked familiar, I had seen them before.

Peter made a move to greet me, but I waved him off with my hand, still keeping eye contact with Edward. I know I was being a jerk to Peter. I _had_ always wanted to meet him; Edward talked about him all the time. But I was not about to pass up this opportunity.

"So, are you here to eat at Bishamon? It's your favorite sushi place." Edward's obvious assessment broke the silence; that smile still plastered on his face as he tilted his head toward the restaurant.

"Yes."

"Are you alone?" Edward said, looking behind me now.

"Yes, Edward." I sighed wanting to be away from him. Kind of.

"That's great!! We'll join you." He motioned to the group around him. It was a statement, not a question.

After letting out another sigh I replied, "I'd rather not."

"Wh-what?" Edward stuttered, which was unusual for the confident bastard.

"I'd really rather you didn't join me for lunch Edward."

"Um, yes, I understood what you said… I just don't understand why…" he trailed off.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Throwing my hands up in the air, I continued."What is your problem?" I yelled, while pointing my finger at him. "Don't you pull this shit with me Edward Cullen. You know exactly why I don't want to be around you."

While continuing to stare at me with a blank expression on his face Edward took a step closer to me. I took a step back.

"Bella, I-" he said while reaching his hand out for me.

"No, Edward. Stop." I interrupted him, looking at his hand. When I looked back at him, he dropped it to his side.

"How dare you…" I said in my calmest voice. I needed to control myself; I was not that little girl anymore. "How dare you treat me like this. You're a liar Edward. You lied to me. I can't believe I ever trusted you."

I stopped myself when I started to feel my eyes water. He had seen me cry too many times and that will never happen again. _I will not be weak_. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair to calm myself. Edward's entourage_,_ though still very present, began to move away after my little outburst.

"Bella..." Edward pleaded, again reaching out for me. I took another step back and crossed my arms so he couldn't grab them. His face fell.

"A year." I said and then took another deep breath while running my hand through my hair. "You haven't spoken to me in over a year. I traveled half way around the world for you and you couldn't even carve an hour out of your oh-so-busy schedule to be with me. I guess you don't think I'm as special as you once thought I was. It makes sense, I mean, I'm not gonna scream and cry to touch you. I'm not gonna ask for your picture or for your autograph. I'm not impressed by this façade you've created… because I know you."

"And that's what you want. Isn't it Edward? You love that you're a big deal now. You'll even shove people out of the way to get it, even me, even your beloved. How dare you think you can spout out pretty words and then ignore me for a year. Did you honestly think I'd just come crawling back to you? You're not so special Edward Cullen."

Suddenly I was inches from his face, staring up at him, daring him to deny my accusations. He didn't move an inch or look away. Nor did he speak.

"You're just like them." I whispered in his face.

Finally he broke from my stare and looked away. I took a step back and pinched the bridge of my nose trying to relieve the headache I left building. But I still wasn't finished; there was more to say.

"I fought for you." I said almost to myself, closing my eyes.

"What do you mean?" He whispered back. I opened my eyes in time to see his shoot up to meet mine.

"In London, when Rosalie and I got in that fight. She told me this would happen Edward. She told me that she was glad for me that you moved so far away. She told me she was proud of me that I didn't let your actions bother me. And do you know why I didn't let it bother me Edward?"

He said nothing.

"Because I knew. I fucking knew that was going to happen. I- I wrote to you the night I got back from London… sobbing and alone, praying that maybe you'd prove Rosalie wrong. But you didn't... you did exactly what she said you would."

That was it and I was done. I couldn't stand here and look at him anymore.

"You're a selfish asshole and you aren't worth it anymore." I could feel the tears building in my eyes and I knew I only had a few more seconds before I was going to cry.

I pushed passed him. "Wait." He said softly, just as I passed the rest of his group.

_No._

It dawned on me that his entourage had witnessed my entire outburst. But I didn't care, maybe that would do him some good, for them to see that not everyone swooned at the sight of him. But if I was being honest with myself, I don't think I had met anyone who hadn't instantly fallen in love with him.

"Bella… Isabella!!" He yelled after me.

_No. _

I ran towards my truck with tears threatening to spill over.

_No…_

"I hate you!" I wanted to scream back to him but couldn't. I didn't hate him, even if the only feeling I wanted towards him was hate. I didn't hate him. The only reason he had this effect, this control over me was because I loved him. I loved him so much. I loved him too much.

I turned the corner away from the Starbucks and my truck came into view. I grabbed my keys out of my purse and looked down to find the right one. I ran a few more feet and just as I was about to push my key into the door I was spun around and shoved against my truck.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled as I tried to push his hands off of my shoulders. He wouldn't budge.

"Don't!!!" I screamed. "I'm not the same kid from your memory. I can fend for myself!! I don't need you!! I don't need you." Whether I was saying this for his benefit or mine, I'm not sure. But as the words came out of my mouth Edward staggered back, leaning into the car parked next to mine.

He looked as if I had punched him in the stomach; his body contorted at my words.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, looking at his shoes.

"D-don't… don't say cr-crap to me that you don't mean." I stuttered as traitor tears streamed down my face blurring my vision of the beautiful man I could not longer look away from.

Still not looking at me, Edward slowly starting shaking his head from side to side. "But, you _are_ just a kid," he mumbled to himself, "…so young..." He trailed off.

"What… what does m-my age have to do with t-this?" I stuttered through my tears.

Without moving away from the car he was leaning against, Edward straightened up and looked at me. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides as he watched the tears pour down my face, keeping himself from touching me. He hated when I cried.

"Bella, love. You're… you're so young."

"I'm not..." I trailed off as I began to sob, putting my face in my hands.

"No. I can see that you're not…" he said as I heard him take a step away from the car. "But you're a teenager. Just a kid." His words only caused me to cry harder.

"N-no Edward. No I'm not." I took a deep breath and tilted my head back, willing the tears away. Willing myself to calm down. "You've forgotten my birthday this year." I said as I tried to remove the tears from under my eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Things I own would include, a very old copy of Wuthering Heights, a mildly old epiphone guitar and a very new pair of moccasins.**

**Things I don't own would include, Twilight by the obscenely rich Stephenie Meyer, Ignorance by the rock awesome Paramore and anything else you may recognize.**

**Things that own me would include, Robert Pattinson and apparently my brother at buying Christmas presents. **

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Chapter 1

_Two Years Earlier_

As per Charlie's wishes I waited until a month after my 18th birthday to ask about an audition at Second Key, a nightclub that also held venues for local bands. I had been to Second Key more times than I could count and Rosalie, the owner, had offered me a job as a waitress and bartender after I turned 18. Needless to say, the day after my birthday I had called Rosalie and taken the job.

Working at the club had been fine so far and the extra money helped, but I wanted to sing at Second Key and I wanted my band to play. I'd been working at the club for three weeks now and it had been exciting. Charlie made me wait so that he could be sure I would be able to balance senior year and work at the same time. If I proved to him I could do both he'd let me audition. I think I nearly gave him a heart attack when I jumped on him after he told me I had proven myself. Poor Chief Swan never saw that coming.

After work last night I asked Rosalie about auditioning, it didn't come as a huge surprise to her; everyone knew how much I loved to sing. Though the club mostly hosted bands but during the weeknights they have a small house band that does everything from Nat King Cole to Paramore. The house band is known as Keys; they only fill in the nights when there are no bands scheduled. I talked to Rosalie about getting my band to play during one of the Thursday night shows, because they were usually the smallest, and 'Burnt Toast On Tuesday' is my very newly formed band. But apparently she was more interested in having me join the house band, which was in need of another female vocalist. "This is your way in" she told me, "If you really want 'Burnt Whatever' to play here, you are going to join Keys." So that is why next Tuesday at 6pm I'll be sitting in a back room at Second Key practicing old jazz numbers with Keys.

"Bella… oh Bella! Isabella? Bells? Belly Bells? Bella!! BELLA!!!" _I think someone is trying to get my attention…_

"Yes, Alice?"

"I knew you were awake you douche, I've been screaming for you for like 10 minutes." Alice said as she walked into my room and jumped on top of me while I tried to get out of her way. I gave her the finger. "What?" She pouted, "You don't want your bestest friend in the whole wide world to grace you with her presence?"

"Too early… must sleep…" I complained as I buried myself under my covers. My very warm covers.

"Not so my dear! It is already past 7:30. If you don't get up right now you are going to be late for school, which would make me late for school, and you know how much I hate being late for anything… even if it is school. What do you think you'll wear today? Do you want me to pick for you oh lazy one? Maybe that grey thermal thingy you love… Can I do your hair? You know how much I wish I had your hair. How long did it take you to grow it? 7 years?" and she was off my bed and running into my closet throwing things around. Seriously, a skirt just landed on my desk lamp… _oy_.

I growled at her. "That reply will do for present." She sang while walking over to my dresser to pull out some socks.

Twenty minutes later I was dressed, groomed, fed, out the door and headed to Alice's car. Alice Brandon has been my best friend for over 6 years. She moved to Forks 8 years ago to live with her Uncle Carlisle when she was 10. We instantly hated each other though neither of us would be able to say why anymore. When we were both 12, Mike Newton tried to kiss me and she punched him in the face. We've been best friends ever since.

The drive to Forks High School was short yet filled with one-sided dialogue revolving around the newest underground band Alice had heard of. We pulled into the parking lot and Alice was out of the car as soon as it was parked and tackling the love of her life in the front lawn of the school.

Shaking my head at the scene before me, I grabbed her keys out of the ignition and made my way over to the two kids now making out on the front lawn of the school. "Hey Jasper." I greeted the blond with his hands in my best friend's back pocket. After a few seconds of giggling from said best friend she extracted herself from the boy and pulled him to his feet. "Hey Bella…" Jasper replied as he brought his arm around Alice's shoulder. "You seen Jake around yet?" He asked while looking behind me with a smile on his face.

I couldn't stop the smile that was beginning to form on my face though I didn't try. Jacob Black was most assuredly the love of my life and no he didn't know that. I don't think. "No I haven't--" Was all I was able to say before I was being lifted off of the ground and spun through the air. "Jacob Black!! You put me down!!" I screamed thinking of only one person who enjoys throwing me through the air.

"Awe come on Bells… you're ruining all my fun." Jacob pouted as he set me back on the ground. He kept his hand on my waist. "So I hear you're joining Keys next Tuesday for rehearsal. That's exciting! You'll get to spend more time with me now..."

I blushed a deep scarlet, "Oh… Rosalie told you that huh?" Yes, I knew Jacob was in Keys. Yes, that did sway my decision to join.

"Yup. She's all kinds of excited for you to join. Apparently your reputation precedes you." Jacob replied with a smirk, watching the blush that only grew darker under his watch. I looked away and made eye contact with Alice who was also smirking at me.

"Yes, that will be great… you two spending more time together. Don't you the think Bella?" She said, never taking her eyes off of me.

"Please, its not like I haven't had my fair share of Jacob in my life. I've only known him since…. I can remember." I brushed off Alice's comment. She and I both knew what she was doing. She'd be convincing me for years that I was in love with Jacob and that he was in love with me. I didn't believe her until he had to go and take off his shirt and iron it in front of me. Have you ever watched a man's back muscles move? Don't. It's not always healthy for a woman to see such beauty, especially if the man doesn't belong to you. But regardless of health, since that fateful afternoon of ironing I have gladly been drinking the Kool-Aid that is Jacob Black.

"Um, ouch." Jacob pouted. _Oh if he only knew._ With that final thought we broke apart and began another lovely day as seniors at the equally lovely Forks High School. Heavy sarcasm.

Work tonight was pretty slow, as it usually is on a Thursday night. There were no more than 10 people hanging around. I was currently working the bar in the upstairs room where a small band was playing a particularly painful rendition of 'Ragdoll' by Maroon 5.

I leaned against the bar and sighed loudly. "How do you screw up a Maroon 5 song?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Very carefully." Came the very dry reply from Jessica who was cleaning off a table near the back of the room. Jessica Stanley was pretty cool; she was the only female vocalist for Keys as well as a part-time waitress. She's 28, lives alone and desperately wants a husband.

"There is nothing careful about the way that boy is singing right now." I countered with a chuckle. Jessica just shook her head at me and moved on to tend to a new customer who had just taken a seat near the stage.

Sighing again, I moved from my spot against the bar and took over the cleaning that Jessica had left behind. I looked at my watch and saw that it was nearly midnight and smiled to myself when I realized I'd be able to leave in about 10 minutes. Even though Second Key closed at midnight on Thursdays I got to leave early because I had worked out a special schedule with Rosalie. I was special like that. Well, not really. My friend Angela also worked here as a waitress and she got to leave early when she worked. Guess it had to do more with age than it did with favoritism. _Boo._

Just as I was heading down the stairs to the first floor Rosalie shot out of her office and motioned for me to come to her. The downstairs floor of Second Key was gigantic; it held the offices, the storage rooms, the rehearsal room, the dance floor, the stage, the tables and the larger bar of the two we had. I walked down the stairs and into Rosalie's office. I found her lying on the floor, on her back with her eyes closed and her arms elevated above her head in all her long limbed, blonde hair and blued eyed glory. _What a weirdo. A damn gorgeous weirdo._

"Um. Hey Rosalie… you wanted me?" Rosalie was not a normal person, this I knew, but what the hell is she doing right now?

"Hey Bella." She replied, she opened her eyes to look at me and then began moving her hands up and down in an odd flapping motion and raising her feet into the air. She snickered after seeing my confused look. "Pilates." She clarified. I nodded. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about some stuff regarding Keys. I'm pretty sure you've already met the majority of the band." I nodded. "Good. Well, I don't know what we're gonna do but... wait. Have you met Jane yet?" Again me with the nodding. "Okay well she's apparently decided she's moving to Alaska or Scotland or something. So starting in two weeks we're gonna be short a music director as well as a piano player… So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind filling in a couple of nights next week and maybe for a few rehearsals."

"Yeah, sure, that's fine I guess. I'm nowhere near the talent that Jane was but I don't mind helping out, I mean I'll be here for rehearsals now anyways." I replied with a shrug. Plus, I'll be able to see Jake more; he is definitely the acoustic guitar player as well as a male vocal for Keys. But Rosalie didn't need to know that.

"Oh good! I thought I was going to have to threaten you with country music or something." Rosalie looked relieved.

"Ew."

"But in all seriousness, I really owe you for this Bella. How about you get that weird band of yours over here after rehearsal on Tuesday and you guys can audition for a Thursday slot?"

"Oh hell yes!!" I practically screamed. At my boss. _Oops._

"Ha ha. Well oh-kay than…" Rosalie replied while shaking her head at me. She finds me amusing; she's just trying to hide it. She sat up from her position on her back and reached for her ankles. "You can go now." And I've been dismissed.

When I walked into my house at 12:20am I was greeted with the sounds of ESPN highlights and Charlie snoring. _How cute, he was trying to wait up for me._ I set down my purse and ran into the living room and jumped onto my father's lap. "Good morning sunshine!!" I sang loudly at my father.

"Blargh! Alice is rubbing off on you, I thought for sure after all this time it wasn't going to happen. I was incorrect." He laughed, while simultaneously hugging me and rubbing his eyes.

"Ha! Okay Tina Fey. Apparently my enjoyment of all things 30 Rock is rubbing off on you." I teased and then tried to remove myself from his chair. I ended up on falling onto the floor.

"You're so smooth." Charlie commented after laughing at me. He didn't even ask if I was okay. He's mean. Not really.

I stuck my tongue out at him and got up. "Watch it old man. I can take you."

"Anyways!" He laughed some more. "Glad to see you're home safe. Now go upstairs and go to sleep. You have school in the morning and you're not working. Which means I will be requiring a home cooked meal Bells." Charlie thinks he's so funny. He got up from the chair and started turning the lights off throughout the house.

"So now we see the real reason you keep me around. Food." I replied while trailing behind him up the stairs to my bedroom.

He snorted at me. "I was waiting until you were older to explain that, I wanted to make sure you'd understand your place."

"Ew."

"Ewww." He mocked with a chuckle. "Maybe you aren't as grown as I thought."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Goodnight father."

"Night Isabella."


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Things I own would include, a very old copy of Wuthering Heights, a mildly old epiphone guitar and a very new pair of moccasins.**

**Things I don't own would include, Twilight by the obscenely rich Stephenie Meyer, Ignorance by the rock awesome Paramore and anything else you may recognize.**

**Things that own me would include, Robert Pattinson, robertlover36 for being the first to alert my story and hottie91 for being the first to review!!**

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Chapter 2

"Seriously Bella I don't think you're fully grasping the awesome that is Ashland." Alice whined as we made our way up the stairs and into my bedroom.

"There is nothing to grasp Alice, I haven't even heard Ashland yet. The first time I heard of them was when you blabbered continuously about them Thursday morning on the way to school." I replied while dropping my backpack and throwing myself onto my bed. Seriously, she wouldn't shut up about them. According to Alice, Ashland was a well-known independent band based out of Illinois. She found a few of their songs a few weeks ago… somewhere... I may or may not have zoned out during that part and she's been in love with them ever since. I was surprised I was just hearing about them now. Apparently she'd seen a picture of the lead vocalist on Wednesday night and now she was madly in love with him. I threatened to tell Jasper. She laughed at me.

"Shit, really? I thought I played them for you. I must fix this. Now!" Alice screamed... again. She pulled out her iPod, plugged it into my speakers and paused looking for a specific song of there's she wanted. She screamed once more when she found it and then pressed play. She turned and looked at me expectantly with one black eyebrow raised. "Amazing, right? I mean, listen to that? I wish I could play that drum pattern, it's sick!"

"Shut up!!" I snapped and waved my hand to silence her. I was listening for goodness sake!

Alice was right, I had to give it to her, that drum pattern was sick. Together as a band though, they were amazing. But I was more concerned with the vocals. Man could this guy sing. His voice was a beautiful mix of blues and folk though the music was harsh indie rock. When the next song started it opened with a piano playing a simple waltz tempo. He sang softly to a woman, _'fall asleep for me and dream of anything, like dragonflies and elephant parades.' _I sat stunned listening to this beautiful voice. The words he spoke were tender and loving. It was a completely different mood than the first song. I closed my eyes and focused once more on the lyrics as goose bumps spread from my arms up to my neck. I only opened my eyes when the song ended.

"He is… wonderful." I whispered in a daze. Alice smiled at me.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!!!" And she's back to the screaming…

"Alright, enough with the screaming already. Let's just calm down now and do some homework. I've got rehearsal at 6 and BTOT needs to be there at 8:30 for our audition." And then we were both screaming. The whole band had been freaking out since I told them Rosalie would be letting us audition today. We only had the opportunity to play at some backyard shows. This would be our first real gig, if we got it. That was a very big if.

BTOT, also known as, Burnt Toast On Tuesday, included Jasper who played bass, Alice who played drums, Jake who motherfucking owned the electric guitar. No, I'm not biased. Fine, I'm totally biased. I sang and played the acoustic guitar; I was occasionally known to play the keyboard. Though we were all in it for the love of music and writing, we couldn't deny the fact that playing a gig at Second Key would be the most amazing thing to happen to us. Ever. We'd practiced everyday since I told them about the audition at school the next day.

After some serious screaming and giggling, Alice and I decided we should get our homework finished before I had to leave for rehearsal. Three hours later I was parking my truck and walking through the back entrance of Second Key and heading up the stairs. The whole upper floor was closed on Tuesday nights, due to rehearsals.

Tonight would be my first night as a member of Keys. I had been working at Second Key for nearly a month, so I already knew everyone in the band. I wasn't nervous at all, I told myself. My heart was beating fast only because Jacob would be here. My heart always does that skipping a beat thing when I knew I'd get to see Jacob. And there he was, that tall and tanned hunk of a man, standing against the piano talking to Jane.

I walked into the practice room, set my purse down on the row of chairs across from the piano and made my way over to Jacob. I was cool and confident around Jacob. I knew how to move, I knew what to say and I knew how to say it.

"Hey." _Uh, I guess not._

Jacob turned towards me and smiled, "Well hello dearest Isabella. How are you this fine evening?" He is so adorable.

"I'm well, thank you." I giggled back to him. Why am I giggling?

And then there was silence. We just stood there smiling at each other like idiots. He was probably waiting for me to say something since I clearly came over to talk to him but I couldn't think of a single thing to say. _He's just standing here smiling at me. _I always freaked out when he smiled at me. He had the best teeth all straight and white, the tiniest calcium deposit on his front tooth, so adorable.

Jane cleared her throat… hallelujah… and called for the team to take their sets and start rehearsal. "Guys, this is Bella. Bella these are the guys."

Now everyone was looking at me. "Hey Guys..." Charlie is right I'm _so _smooth. Que the eye roll. I don't know why I'm acting all weird, it's not like I don't know these people. I mean I don't know them very well but I've at least met everyone on the team. I can list all their names, watch: Jane, Tyler, Ben, Jacob and Jessica. See? I told you.

Jane smiled at me and took her seat at the piano. "Alright team, we haven't got any new songs to work on for now seeing as I'm moving fairly soon. Why don't we just cover some of our basic pieces for Bella." She turned her eyes to me and said, "Though I don't know how useful they may be. For all I know your new director may be a huge country fan and change all of our standards." She smiled. I grimaced.

"Do you know whose gonna replace you?" Tyler asked.

"Not a clue. As far as I know Rosalie doesn't even have any prospects. Which reminds me. I should let you guys know that Bella will be playing piano during rehearsals for the next few weeks, until Rosalie finds a music director, that is."

"Check you out Bells. You're so legit and shit." Jacob chuckled at me from across the room. 'You're so dumb' I mouthed to him and rolled my eyes. He laughed some more.

"Shouldn't be anything too difficult," Jane continued. "We have the sets finished for the next few weeks so Bella will just follow the music. You should all know the songs. Right Tyler?"

Tyler groaned, "I only messed up the words that one time! And that was like a year ago. Can we forget about that please?" He begged.

"It was your own song!!" Jessica and Ben yelled at the same time. Tyler bowed his head forward and slouched in his seat.

"Sit up straight now." Jane teased, "Let's start with some vocal exercises." She shook her finger at Tyler and then began playing a set of low scales for the men to follow.

Two hours, five songs and three winks from Jacob later, rehearsal ended. Damn straight I counted every time Jacob winked at me. I loved when Jacob winked at me. I stood up from my chair and put my sheet music back in their proper folders. Jacob caught my attention and motioned for me to follow him outside. We walked to his car and unloaded some of the equipment we'd need for our audition. Just as Jacob was shutting the door of his van Alice and Jasper pulled up and parked a few spots down from us.

"Let me hear you Forks!! Are you ready to rock?" Alice screamed as she flung herself out of Jasper's car and ran full speed at me. I cowered behind Jacob. Alice laughed and stopped about two inches from Jacob's chest. "What?" She feigned innocence, looking at me from around Jacob's shoulder.

"Ha! Calm down you little ham. Let's not kill Bella, she's kinda important. Well... at least until the audition is over." Jacob patted Alice's head. She frowned at him; unhappy he was messing with her hair.

"Well don't tiptoe around my feelings Jake." I sighed.

"Oh please," Alice rolled her eyes at me. "we all know how important you are. Don't we Jacob?" She smiled up at him.

"Eh, I'm still not sold. I think Jasper could sing her parts. Isn't that right Jazzy-poo?" Jacob threw his arm around Jasper as he made his way over to us. Jasper looked confused.

"Um. What? Whose parts am I singing about?" _Oh wow._ Jacob and I snickered.

"Ha! Mine hopefully." Alice laughed at Jasper and then walked into the club.

"Always, Baby!" Jasper yelled and ran after her.

"Thanks for the help douche bags!!" Jacob yelled and went to go pick up the rest of Alice's drum kit. I laughed at him and told him if he were a real man he wouldn't need anyone's help. At this he scoffed at me, picked up my guitar, which I was holding, and walked inside. _I always knew he was a real man._

Rosalie met us walking up the stairs to the smaller stage, where we would hopefully play a show one day. She told us we had 30 minutes to set up, sound check, and run one song. After that she'd be come up to hear us play at least two songs. "And I'll have someone very important with me. So, keep that in mind." She said as she turned away from us and went back into her office. We all stood frozen in our places and gave each other panicked looks.

"Well then we best get to it." Jasper said with a shrug.

We climbed up the stairs and started unloading our instruments. The room was dark and empty. The tables and chairs were all stacked on top of each other in the far back corner of the room and the bar stools were placed upside down on the bar to the right side of the stage. We were quiet as we began setting up our equipment. Alice was set up in the middle of the sage and I in front of her. Jacob and Jasper were to my left and my keyboard was to my right, facing towards the would be audience. This is how we played. Always. The air was still and thick with tension, our nerves getting the best of us and growing as we felt it from one another. This was supposed to be fun…

Alice finished setting up her kit and started playing a drum pattern from one of my favorite Circa Survive songs. I smiled at her. Jacob laughed, picked up his guitar and motioned for me to do that same. He started in with the lead line. Jasper jumped up on stage after he plugged my foot pedal into an amp and joined in after another measure. Jasper turned and nodded his head at my microphone. I smiled, already feeling the tension starting to leave my body and sang the opening line, _'move one inch at a time, don't make shit rhyme.' _God bless Alice. This is exactly what we needed. This was a song we all loved and had played many times. It wasn't a song we'd ever perform as I'm not the best at alternative punk but it was dark and intense and crazy fun to play. We hit the chorus and I started the rhythm line on my acoustic.

We were all smiling at each other and getting into it. Jasper grabbed his bass and swung it across his shoulders and I laughed in the middle of a line but quickly recovered and started into the second verse. We threw our heads around to the beat and just fucking started getting loose. The song hit its climax and I let out a scream into the microphone. This caused all three of them to laugh at me. I wasn't much of a screamer. I sang the last line of the song and we cut our instruments abruptly. I blew out a breath and smiled at my band. _That felt good._ I bent down to grab my water bottle and...

"Well shit Rosalie, why haven't you hosted them before?"

Stunned I shot up from my position and turned around to see Rosalie leaning against the bar with her head turned towards a tall dark haired man. "I haven't heard them play before. I'm not some damned psychic, I didn't know they were gonna play like that." She snapped waving her hand towards the stage. The dark haired man turned his head away from her and made eye contact with me.

"What are you called?" He asked with a nod.

"Er… Burnt Toast On Tuesday." I replied slightly embarrassed at being caught messing around. We hadn't intended to practice, let alone let anyone hear us play, a song like that.

"No shit! Really? That's bad ass." He smiled as he made his way towards the stage. "I'm Emmett." He said and reached his hand out to bump fists with Jasper. "How you doing, Jake?" He asked, again bumping fists with him.

"I'm good." Jake replied with a shrug. He looked beyond Emmett and cocked his eyebrow at Rosalie. "You didn't tell me Emmett was in town."

Rosalie laughed at Jacob and pushed away from the bar, she sauntered over to us and sat down on the stage. "How dare I keep you from your boy toy, Jake. I'm so heartless." Jake rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention to Alice and I.

"Guys, this is Emmett." He motioned with his hand, "And just to be clear he is most definitely Rosalie's boy toy, not mine. I've asked him to reconsider numerous times. He never goes for it." Jacob pouted and made puppy dog eyes at Emmett. "So is Emmett your 'someone very important' or what?" He asked of Rosalie.

"Oh yeah, Emmett is definitely someone very important." She emphasized with a smack to Emmett's ass; he didn't seem to mind. "But yeah, Jane usually sits in with me during auditions. I love music and all, but she's got the ear." Jacob smiled knowingly in response. "Emmett lives in Chicago… right now." She shot a look at Emmett that clearly said, _'but not for long' _and then looked towards the rest of us. "Em's managing a band in Chicago. Booking agent, you know, the whole shebang."

"See, that's what you keep forgetting, Rosie." Emmett interrupted, "I manage four bands not just one. That makes a difference… you know that." He replied with remorse.

"Is that supposed to be impressive?" Alice asked from behind her drum kit.

"Alice!!" I screamed at her. What is she thinking saying that to him? Emmett is what's standing between us and playing a show here.

"What?" She looked at me, confusion clouding her features.

Before I could respond a boom of laughter filled the room and I turned to see Emmett with his head thrown back laughing at Alice. "I like her." He forced out between chuckles. He shook his head and looked towards Alice, "Nah, it's not supposed to be impressive. It's more like a reminder to this blondie right here." He said while pulling Rosalie up to stand under his arm.

"Okay… so should we play our first song now?" Jasper asked, speaking for the first time since we finished the song.

Emmett looked away from Jasper to Rosalie and shrugged at her when she raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. "I don't think that's gonna be necessary." Emmett said still looking at Rosalie.

"Not necessary at all." Rosalie agreed looking away from Emmett. "You guys cool to play this Thursday? Twentyfour64 had to cancel, something about Hawaii, I don't know…" She trailed off with a shrug.

For some reason no one was speaking.

"Um… yes." I said looking at my band mates. "Hell yes we're down for Thursday."

"Awe, too bad you guys aren't called Burnt Toast On Thursday!" Emmett sighed dramatically, "That would have been so perfect… you know… if you played on Thursday. Get it? Burnt Toast…" Rosalie reached up and smacked Emmett across the back of his head.

"No more words." She said to him shaking her head back and forth. "Anyways, the point is we want you guys to play Thursday. Bella, you're gonna have to get someone to cover your shift, unless you don't mind working before and after the show."

"I don't mind." I told her. "I mean I'll be here anyway."

"Yes you will. That's even better for me though! Okay well, you guys will have a 30 minute block. There's one other band scheduled to play, actually this band has a pretty big following, so we're expecting a bigger crowd. So... good for you. Be here at 8, you'll go on around 9:30. Cool?" She looked between the four of us, like we were going to argue with her…

"Sounds perfect!" Alice chirped from behind me.

"And how about the gentlemen, is that sufficient?" She asked with a knowing smile.

Jasper blanched and looked to Jacob with his eyebrows raised, disappearing behind his mop of blond curls. He looked quite panicked for some reason. Jacob didn't seem to notice. He smiled a big toothy grin at Jasper and nodded his head urging Jasper to speak for himself.

"Well, sure I'd love to play Thursday… as long as that's what ya'll are wanting." I rolled my eyes at that. Of course that's what we wanted.

"Damn straight that's what I want." Jacob nodded and then looked to Rosalie.

"Well then," Rosalie paused. "I guess I'll spread the word that Burnt Toast On Tuesday is playing here this Thursday!" She said with a nod and a smile. "Now get the hell out of here. I'm tired." She laughed at herself and pulled Emmett out of the room.

"Bye! Nice to meet you guys!!" Emmett's voice carried on from down the stairs.

And once again, no one was speaking. Alice stood up and walked over to Jasper who pulled his bass off his shoulder and set it on its stand. Jacob and I did the same with our guitars. We stood there in silence looking at one another. Slowly a smile began to form on Alice's face and I mirrored it right back at her. Then she screamed and then I screamed. And suddenly we were all screaming and jumping up and down like 4 year old girls at a barbie convention.

"That wasn't hard at all!" Alice squealed excitedly.

"Not at all!" Jacob yelled happily, "I wasn't even scared!" And then we were all laughing at Jacob.

"You guys," I said once the laughter had died down, "What the fuck are we going to play?"

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**The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is The Dose - Circa Survive**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Things I own would include, a very old copy of Wuthering Heights, a mildly old epiphone guitar and a very new pair of moccasins.**

**Things I don't own would include, Twilight by the obscenely rich Stephenie Meyer, Ignorance by the rock awesome Paramore and anything else you may recognize.**

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Chapter 3

"I can't talk about this right now, Dad!"

"Bells, you're gonna have to deal with this very soon. You need to grow up and decide what you're doing with your life." Charlie had been trying to coerce me into a conversation about "my future" ever since I started senior year. Today it began when I got home from school and told him about BTOT playing at Thursday's show.

Apparently he feels it's important I have a plan for the future. _Ha! Please..._ I know he's right, I just don't want to deal with this now.

"Seriously Dad, I _really_ can't talk about this right now. Alice and the guys are gonna be here any minute. We have to practice for the show tomorrow." I implored.

Charlie let out a big sigh and flopped down in his chair in front of the big screen, "Fine. But we will talk about this after practice. This is important Isabella." He faced the television and I literally ran away from him, into the kitchen and through the door into the garage.

After the audition last night we drove to the local diner and stayed there until 2am discussing a set list for Thursday's show. We figured between introductions and transitions we'd be able to get about six songs in. We'd be playing four original songs and three cover songs. Out of the six songs I was only nervous about one; a song I wrote that just happened to be about Jacob. Though, Alice was the only person who knew that. The song, 'Don't Stray', is very personal. What makes it worse is that Jake and I will be playing the song together. _Just_ Jake and I.

I made my way over to my electric piano, which was permanently located in my garage, and decided it would be smart to go over my song at least once before they got here. I turned on my piano, rolled my shoulders, stretched my fingers and started the opening measure.

"I'm so glad we talked her into playing this song." Alice stage whispered as she came into the garage followed by Jacob. I stopped playing and spun around to face the intruders.

"Sure, sure." Jacob replied distractedly while he struggled to open his guitar case.

"You should really get a new one of those." I teased and pointed to the old guitar case I had given him for his birthday when he turned twelve.

He stilled his movements and looked over his shoulder while keeping his back towards me, "I don't fucking need a new guitar case!" He snarled. Mumbling something to himself, he walked to the other side of the room and sat down with his guitar case.

"Um…" I looked towards Alice with my eyebrows raised. 'What the hell?' I mouthed to her. She rolled her eyes at me and gave a big smile.

Just then Jasper walked in with a ziploc bag of cookies. "What's in an oatmeal raisin cookie?" He asked giving an intense look towards the cookie in his hand.

"Oatmeal and raisins." Jacob laughed, "Come on man, even _I _knew that!"

Apparently, he's only mad at me, for no reason… douche bag. Not really though. He's way too hot to be a douche bag... for any extended amount of time.

"No shit man! Really?" Jasper asked seemingly astonished. Dude's gotta lay off the weed.

"Yeah, Jazz, it's pretty basic." Alice assured him and took a cookie from the bag.

"You gotta lay off the weed dude." Jacob echoed my thoughts. Great minds think alike.

"Ha! I was just thinking that!" I exclaimed and Jacob threw his head back in laughter.

"Shut up you douches. I only smoked like that one time…" he paused to think, "like those two times." Jasper defended and set the bag of cookies down. He gave Alice a kiss on her head and picked up his bass.

"He's telling the truth. It's been like four months or something." Alice replied smoothly and moved to set up her drum kit. Jacob and I rolled our eyes at each other.

"Well, alrighty then. Let's get to it. Charlie wants you guys out of here early. He wants to have a talk with me about my future." I whined.

"You're just getting that talk now?" Jacob asked. "I've been getting that one since the middle of junior year. Billy's all about planning ahead these days."

"See that's why I don't mind living with my aunt and uncle. They don't care what I do with my life." Alice smiled.

"Please. They're not worried because you've had your life planned out since 7th grade. Fashion designer, a summer wedding, a house is Los Angeles, two point five kids. Come on." I whined some more.

"Don't get all pissy with me, Isabella Marie. I've been offering to plan your life for _you_ since 7th grade." Alice replied with certainty. This is truth, but I'm ignoring it.

"Eh." I replied unconvincingly as I made my way to my guitar.

"Okay, so you guys wanted to go over 'Shake' again, yeah?" Jacob asked, changing the subject.

"Indubitably." Jasper replied. He is so weird.

"Well let's get to it." Jacob said repeating my words. He looked to Alice and nodded his head, motioning for her to follow him as he began the opening chords of the song.

--

I was sitting in my room trying to decide what to wear for the show tomorrow. It had to be something I would be comfortable wearing during work, but something cool enough to wear on stage. It also needed to look like I hadn't even bothered to think about what I put on. Being a girl is tough stuff...

Okay, I was totally hiding from Charlie. But as long as I was hiding at least I could be doing something productive.

_Should I wear heals or oxfords…_

There was a knock at the door and Charlie let himself in_. Crap._

"Put the shoe down and nobody gets hurt." Charlie said in his 'I'm a cop' voice.

"Hardy-har, very funny Dad." I replied sarcastically but still put the shoe back in my closet. Sighing dejectedly I made my way over to my bed and laid down face first. I knew I wouldn't be able to hide for long.

"Alright little one, let's get to talking." He said with a chuckle. He sat down next to me on my bed and patted my back. "Come on. Assume the position." He said tugging on my shoulder.

It was common knowledge in the Swan house that I replied well to annoying conversations if a head rub was involved. I smiled into my pillow, rolled onto back and place my head in my father's lap. He ran his fingers through my long tresses and I hummed in approval. Yeah, I'm a daddy's girl.

"Bells, you know I only have these conversations with you because I love you, yes?" He asked looking down at me with a smile, his eyes crinkled in the corners. It was the only proof he was nearing his fifties. Well, that and the few grey hairs that showed in his mustache and sideburns.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I know…"

"Good," He said with a nod. "Now let's get down to business…" He paused, waiting to see if I would protest again. I didn't, I might as well get it over with. "What do you want to do with your life Bells?" He continued.

"The same thing I've always wanted to do Dad… music." I replied with annoyance.

"I know that. Gosh, _everyone_ knows that. I mean specifically… do you want to go to school for music? Do you want to make an album? Do you want to be a music teacher?" He asked trying to push me towards a decision.

"I… don't know."

"You don't know." He repeated with remorse. He sighed.

_Shit._ I hated the sighing. "All I know, for sure, is that I love music. I love to sing, I love to play… and I'm good at it." I said my big brown eyes looking up at his.

"Yes, you are. But you gotta think about the future here Bella. You gotta go to school, at least to a junior college. You know, get your AA? Peninsula College is close. You could keep your job at Second Key, live at home with your old man…" He goaded.

"Dad, Port Angeles is over an hour away. It's not _that_ close." I clarified, my brow knitting together.

"They have an extension site in Forks. So you could take the basic classes here and schedule some music classes or something all on one day in Port Angeles." He stated with confidence.

"Oh my gosh! You totally looked that shit up!" I yelled with mock anger and smacked his stomach. He grimaced.

"Watch your language. Jacob's foul mouth is rubbing off on you more, now that transferred to Forks High…" He said with a slight tug to my hair.

"You're deflecting." I shook my finger at him.

"I'm deflecting." He agreed with a nod.

"I don't know if I want to go to a junior college… I mean I have good grades. I could get into a four year… but I do want to stay close, stay with the band, you know?" I thought aloud.

"Then go to a four year. Go to the University of Washington, they have a school of music." He said with reassurance.

"Yeah, that's something to think about." I replied, because I could think of nothing else to say.

"Yeah, sure is…" he trailed off hearing the uncertainty in my voice. "Listen, why don't we look into some different options together. You need to start applying if you want to get into a four year. Just promise me that you'll at least look at some schools. Give your old man some peace of mind." He implored.

That was definitely something I could promise to do. It was also something that would get him off of my back, for now. "Sure, sure. I promise." I said to appease him.

"Great." He smiled. He ran his figures through my hair once more and motioned for me to move my head off of his lap. "We'll get together soon. I'm fishing with Billy this weekend so maybe the next?" He asked, looking up and to the left; a sign that he was mentally going through a list of things he wanted to get done. I also inherited that trait.

"Sure thing, Dad." I agreed getting up from my bed and stretching. I let out a big yawn.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I get it." He said with his hands raised, backing out of my room.

--

Something smelled like coffee. I opened my eyes to find my best friend holding a cup of home-brewed coffee under my nose. I blinked at her. She smiled widely.

"Alice…" I cleared my throat, still gruff with sleep. I looked to the clock on my nightstand… 6:30am. "Alice, two things. One, Why are you holding a cup of coffee in my face? Two why is there a cup of coffee in my face at 6:30 in the morning?" I questioned while pushing the coffee away from my face. So what if the questions were essentially the same thing, it was 6:30 for goodness sake!

"One, because you need to wake up. Two because you need to be awake so I can help you pick out what you'll wear tonight and three, why are you always so mean to me in the morning?" She pouted and eyed the coffee in her hand.

"Drink it," I motioned with my hand. "You know I can't drink coffee if I'm going to be singing later." I reminded her. She smiled and took a pull from the cup.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "We're playing a show at Second Key tonight." I told her in a calm voice.

"No way!! Really?" She asked with rampant curiosity.

"Yeah," I furrowed my brow. "I thought I told you that…" I said with mock contemplation. We giggled at each other.

"You're a silly one." She told me after taking another drink of the coffee that was supposed to be mine. "I think I want you to wear those new oxfords you bought." She said changing the subject back to more important things.

"I was thinking of wearing those." I said, giving her the go ahead to plan my outfit around them.

We decided I'd wear a pair of slightly silver metallic oxfords matched with some well-worn dark blue skinny jeans. I picked a black t-shirt with the word 'marvel' spelled out in big blue letters; a multitude of superheroes arranged around the letters. Alice picked a heather-grey vintage inspired navy jacket for me to wear over it. The jacket was short and lightweight with three-quarter sleeves, so I wouldn't get over heated while performing.

Alice was planning on wearing a neon-pink strapless cocktail dress that ended mid-thigh; she paid no mind to the fact that she would be sitting the entire time she'd be on stage. Though, she was unsettled she couldn't wear heals and play at the same time, she opted instead for some metallic oxfords of her own.

With my outfit chosen and laid out, we made our way downstairs for breakfast. It was tradition for Alice and I to eat a big meal in the morning before a gig, even if they were just parties. Alice once passed out during a middle school performance because she had been too nervous to eat anything earlier that day. This was her way to guarantee there would be no passing out for either of us; Jake and Jasper were on their own apparently.

School dragged on endlessly... which was really saying something considering I only have five periods this semester. I was supposed to be at work at 5 tonight and 5pm would get here a hell of a lot sooner if my English class would just end already! Shakespeare just wasn't holding my attention today. Even Jacob, who was sitting to my right, couldn't keep me entertained for the 50 minute class. I continuously fidgeted in my seat, my right leg bounced up and down endlessly.

I looked at the clock above the whiteboard for the hundredth time this class period, 1:35pm. Not bad, only 20 minutes. 20 minutes until I'm free, that means in about 30 minutes tops I can be at home, sitting in front of my piano practicing for tonight… I looked up at the clock again, 1:33pm… what the hell? That can't be right.

Jacob leaned across the isle, "The fuck's your problem Swan?" He whispered to me.

I shot him a dirty look. "What do you think?" I growled back at little too loudly. Mr. Berty paused the monologue he was reading from and looked to me expectantly.

"Sorry Mr. Berty, it won't happen again." I said, as the blush, I knew would make an appearance, materialized onto my face.

"I should suspect not." He emphasized with a firm nod of his head. "Now, who can tell me who curses both the Capulet and the Montague families by saying the line, 'A plague o' both your houses'?" He asked of the class.

Slouching down in my chair, I moved my hair to cover my face and waited for the blush to lessen. Silence stretched on throughout the classroom and I looked up at Mr. Berty, realizing no one was going to answer his question. I raised my hand timidly, wanting to redeem myself.

He looked at me with a speculative expression, "Miss. Swan…" he called on me hesitantly.

"Mercutio. Act 3, Scene 1." I answered with a smirk. I knew my Shakespeare.

"Yes," he replied bewildered. "That is correct… Now, moving along…" he was off again reading from the text. And I was back to willing the clock to move faster.

"Show off." Jacob teased quietly. I lifted my right shoulder slightly and lowered it and shrugged while still looking at the clock. He snickered quietly in response.

--

It was 7:45 and Second Key was banging, jam-packed, teeming, stuffed… or any other words implying that it was fucking crowded. I was elated upon my arrival to see it so busy, but only for the soul reason that with such a crowd I would not be sitting idly by willing time to move forward for the second time today.

"Bella! I need you to bring these drinks over to table 12." Jessica yelled from behind the bar.

"Sure, sure." I replied distractedly as I punched an order into the computer.

"After that go upstairs and switch with Angela. Rosalie wants you to be upstairs before your guys are supposed to be here." She shot me a cursory glance and then asked a very highly inebriated blonde what she'd like to drink next.

I made my way, through the heat and dancing bodies, over to booth twelve and set the drinks down with a smile. "Here ya go." I said already turning to walk up away.

A man, whom I was too busy to notice, shot his hand out and placed it on my waist, "Thanks, doll face!" He yelled. "Wanna join us?" I turned towards him with a smile and removed his hand from around my waist.

"No thanks, sugar. But if you're still here around 9:30 why don't you head on upstairs and watch me perform." I said with a wink and sauntered away. Eh, so what if I made it sound dirty, it's all for the music…

I walked up the stairs and into the second story room. Towards the smaller bar I spotted Angela working with another bartender named James. I called to her and smiled, "Jess says she wants you downstairs. Apparently we're trading off until I'm up." I nodded towards the stage where a band made up of boys was playing a very loud, albeit very good rendition of 'Milk' by Kings of Leon.

Angela finished pouring a beer and placed it on the bar in front of a man with his back turned to us. "Yeah, Rosalie mentioned something about that when I started my shift. I'm just pissed I won't be able to hear Burnt Toast's debut." She scowled and moved from behind the bar to give me a hug. "Good luck," she whispered in my ear and made her way towards the stairs. I liked her. She was pretty much the only other cool person at school; apart from Alice, Jasper and Jake of course.

I walked behind the bar and poured myself a glass of warm water. I took a big gulp and set the empty glass down. Glancing at my watch I saw that it was ten minutes after 8pm. Standing up on my toes I scanned the uncommonly crowded room in search for my band mates.

Jacob was the easiest to spot, standing out with his 'six foot and three inches, thank you very much' tall yet still lanky frame. He looked exceptionally fine this evening, donning a tight black v-neck t-shirt, grey skinny jeans and his customary black and white lace up vans. He must have been bored after school today because he had obviously given himself a buzz cut. It worked on him though.

Jasper and Alice trailed behind Jacob, both searching the room. Jasper looked nervous; his left hand was holding onto Alice's waist tightly while the other was continuously tugging on the black skinny tie that he had obviously not chosen for himself.

Alice, in all her pink cocktail dress glory, whipped her head around and spotted me just as Jacob did as well. I smiled at them. I told James I'd be right back and walked around a few small tables and ran into Alice who was still very much wrapped around Jasper. It resulted in a very odd three-person hug. "Are you freaking out yet? Jasper's totally freaking out. I'm not even going to tell you what I had to do so that he would calm down." She spoke in a rush.

"Ew, Alice." -- "I guess it didn't work." Jacob and I said simultaneously.

"Don't be jealous, Jake. I'm sure…"

"So! Did you guys bring everything we need? We'll have about 15 minutes to set up." I interrupted Alice quickly, already knowing how she was going to finish that sentence. She winked at me. She's lucky she is so adorable… and that she buys me sushi often.

"Yeah," Jasper answered unaware of his girlfriend's innuendos. "We brought everything in Jake's van."

"Great! Just hang out and watch these guys play. They should finish by 9pm and they have a 15 minute tear down and then we get our 15 minutes to set up. Give or take." I looked between my three best friends and gave them each a hug, Jacob's a little bit better than the other two. I led them over to an empty table and asked them if they wanted anything to drink to which Jake replied, "Yeah, rum and coke please." I gave him the finger and walked back to the bar to work for a few more minutes.

Time passed quickly. James had to tap me on the shoulder and point out the time before I even noticed that the band had stopped and that the DJ was playing tracks. I looked to the table my mates were supposed to be and realized they must have already gone to get the equipment. Taking a deep breath I untied the apron from around my waist and stowed it under the bar. I made a b-line to the restroom and dropped my bag in a stall. I traded my work shoes for my oxfords and slipped on my jacket. Shoving my shoes into my bag, I walked out of the stall and stood in front of the mirror. My hair was done in a low messy braid and falling over my right should, I undid my hair and combed my fingers through it. I looked at myself in the mirror once more and shrugged. That was the best I could do.

Making my way out of the restroom, I looked to the stage and saw that the guys had finished unloading our gear. I ran to the front of the room and jumped onto the stage. "Hey guys! What needs doing?" I asked breathlessly.

"Just set up your keyboard. I've got your guitar." Jake remarked offhandedly.

15 minutes later Rosalie was standing in front of us, "You guys ready?" She asked with a reassuring smile.

I looked to the group around me and they nodded their heads that yes, they were ready. I turned back to Rosalie, let out a big breath and said, "Yeah, we are."

She gave us a thumbs-up and made her way through the crowd that was beginning to form, sensing the show about to start, and told the DJ we were ready. She told us he would cut the lights when the song was over and then that was my cue to start.

I turned around and faced my band. "Just remember not to stop, no matter what happens pick it up and keep going." I looked to Jasper; he tended to stop when he messed up. He gave me a sheepish nod. "We've got this you guys. We didn't even have to give a real audition. We're fucking awesome. We've got this."

"Damn straight." Jake agreed with a shoulder bump to Jasper. I smiled at them, set my guitar down and made my way to the microphone, adjusting the stand.

As the last notes of a random dance song came to an end, the house lights dimmed and a spot light blazed onto the stage. I looked behind me at Alice and gave her a wink. I grabbed the microphone with both hands, took a deep breath and screamed, 'I'm nothing! Without! You!' Jake and Alice followed my short, staccato words and then we were off. We breezed through the song and it ended the same way it started.

The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles. I laughed into the microphone and said a quick, 'thanks'. Taking a deep breath I pushed my hair back over my head and addressed the audience, "Hey guys, we're Burnt Toast On Tuesday. Thanks for coming out! This next song is called, Dark Blue."

Two songs turned into four and 'Don't Stray' was up next. I set my guitar down and made my way to my keyboard. Jasper stepped back and took a seat on his bass amp. Jacob padded across the stage, picked up my acoustic and adjusted the strap.

"Okay team," I said into the microphone at my keyboard. "We're gonna change it up for this one. This is an original I wrote a few months back, it's called, Don't Stray and I hope you dig it." I bowed my head, rolled my shoulders and waited for Jake to start the song. It was a simple piece to play; it focused more on the words. After a measure of guitar I joined in with a competing piano line. I sang the first lines with my eyes closed. 'Your eyes are full, full of the future of us.'

When the music came to an end and I sang the last line into the silence, 'So don't, don't stray too far.' There was a pregnant pause but then once more the crowd cheered for us. I said another quick 'thanks' as I stood from the keyboard and walked up to the front of the stage. Jake handed me back my guitar with a wink and I put it over my shoulder. The strap was too long and I chuckled into the microphone. Jake leaned down to fix the strap for me and suddenly the audience burst into catcalls and whistles. I ducked my chin into my chest and blushed a rusty scarlet.

"Alright you jokers!" I mocked after my blush lessened, "That's enough out of you!" The audience laughed with me. _That's embarrassing. _Jake finished with my strap, picked his electric guitar up and played a short lick. Jasper stood and shook out his arms. "Alright," I said into microphone. "This is our last song for the night." The crowd began to boo which made me smile. I raised my hands and motioned for them to calm down. "Once more... we're Burnt Toast On Tuesday." With that I plucked out the opening chords to 'Tisbury Lane' and sang the first line, 'she greets the day with her hair wet' with a smile on my face.

--

"You were amazing!!" A random man from the bar bellowed at me.

"Yeah, so great!" The women next to him gushed as I poured them another round of beers. I smiled a toothy grin and gave a small 'thanks'.

I meandered over to the far side of the bar scanning for someone who needed a drink. Noticing a pair of pale hands neatly folded atop the bar, I glanced up to see an equally pale face framed in a shock of haphazardly formed brick-brown and copper curls. From under thick eyebrows and long lashes, apple-green eyes sparkled at me through dim lights. The left side of his mouth raised slightly and then he was smiling at me.

The noise of the bar faded into nothingness and my vision, seeming to focus all of its energy onto him, blurred to everything around me. Suddenly nothing in the world mattered, for he was smiling at me. And I knew, it was _him_.

* * *

**Shake (Awful Feeling) - My American Heart**

**Nothing Without You - Carney**

**Dark Blue - Jack's Mannequin**

**The Thief - Brooke Fraser  
**

**Tisbury Lane - Mae**


End file.
